The Gift
by GreenEyesStaring
Summary: WARNING: BOOK SEVEN SPOILERS. FINISH THE BOOK FIRST! I warned you. Teddy visits two very important people and for the first time, he knows what it feels like to miss them.


**Disclaimer: **The day I own Harry Potter will be the day singing albino monkeys come flying outta my ass. Thank you.

_In tribute to Remus J. Lupin, my favorite character in the Harry Potter universe; whom, in my opinion was killed off unfairly by J.K. Rowling (and that sonofabitch Death Eater, Dolohov) in __Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_

_Lupin forever!_

The Gift

Ted Remus Lupin, at eleven years of age, wanted to be here more than anything in the world, yet, at the same time, he wanted to be anywhere _but _here. Before him was a wide cemetery, stretching as far as a gnarled tree on a slope in the distance; the gravestones appeared unclear lumps in the early morning fog. The sun had not quite risen yet, and in the dim dawn light, Teddy felt as if he would never find them.

He was not entirely sure where they were; his godfather, Harry, had brought them both here through magic: Side-Along Apparition, it was called. Earlier that morning, Harry had been by to Teddy's house, where he lived with his grandmother, to bring him here. Teddy had never been this far away from home before, yet he trusted Harry to know what he was doing.

A slight wind rustled the grass at his feet, and Teddy turned to his godfather. His green eyes reflected reassurance, comfort. Harry nodded his head, a smile spreading over his lips. "Go on, Ted," he said. "Go and find them."

With one last look at Harry, particularly the odd, lighting-shaped scar on his forehead, Teddy turned again to face the graveyard. He gulped hard, stuck his hands into his jeans pockets, and took a deep breath. A second later, the boy began shuffling forward. At first, his steps were slow, almost restrained with doubt and uncertainty, but as Teddy walked among the tombs, he began to gain confidence.

His sneakers were soon wet from the morning dew on the grass, but as Ted showed no sign on noticing. His eyes were trained on the many headstones. He was searching for them – for _them._ The anticipation made his stomach bend and churn; so much so that Teddy, a grateful eater, had had to pass on Harry's modest offer of buying him breakfast earlier that morning.

Ted's eyes bounced from tomb to tomb, reading and re-reading the names of the witches and wizards they sported. He was making absolutely sure to read carefully, not to hastily – that way, he wouldn't miss them.

The graves he was looking for, of course, where those belonging to his parents – Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. Just thinking about it made his head spin. Teddy had heard most of what he knew about his parents from both his grandmother and Harry. He mostly heard tales and funny anecdotes from either of them, from the time Lupin had saved Harry a detention from Snape, to Harry's first encounter with Tonks and her wild locks.

Teddy subconsciously ran a hand through his own shaggy hair; normally, it was a dark brown color, much like his father's he was told, yet it had the odd tendency to turn colors with any display of strong feelings, like his mother's had. A small smile spread over his lips – he had inherited interesting traits from both of them, after all.

Teddy had also been told, as early on as he could remember, that his parents were heroes – they had died during a battle with evil itself, Lord Voldemort. Though no one was really sure about the circumstances surrounding their deaths (apart from their killer, that is), Ted was happy to know that his parents had died for the good of the wizarding world. His parents were heroes, and he was sure as hell proud to be their son.

Yet, the questions that had arisen after such a revelation where hundreds, and had been stopped only when a promise had been made between boy and godfather. Harry had agreed to answer any and all questions Teddy might have about his parents when Teddy turned eleven, and then take him to his parent's graves the following day.

Ted's eleventh birthday had been the previous day, and now, as Harry had promised, he was at their resting place. As his eager and nervous eyes scanned the faces of the graves for names he recognized, bits and pieces of the previous evening floated into Teddy's mind.

After the initial birthday celebrations were over, the cake was eaten, and the guests were gone, Ted had reminded Harry of his promise. The older wizard, having no intention of going back on such an important pledge, had followed Ted into his room and promised to answer and all questions they boy might have to the best of his ability, as well as honestly. Harry did his best, answering question after question tirelessly, almost amused. It seemed that Teddy was mostly interested in finding out the kind of people his parents had been; he wanted to know about their personalities, their appearance, and wizarding skills.

But as the questions had begun to wind down, along with the light outside the window, Teddy had begun to ask harder, darker questions. The last question Teddy had asked was one Harry had braced himself for the minute he had made his promise. But despite his preparation, Harry found the question no less heart-breaking as it passed with a sob through Teddy's lips: _Why had his parents, both knowing full well that they might never return, abandon their son to fight?_

Teddy had even gone far enough to justify his thoughts: he could understand why _one_ of them would have left to fight, but why had _both_ of them gone? Did they not want to take care of him? Hadn't they wanted a child? Had the fact that he was half werewolf caused them to be ashamed?

At Teddy's questions Harry's thoughts had reeled back to that day, years ago, at 12 Grimmauld Place. The time Harry had aggressively confronted Lupin for wanting to join Hermione, Ron, and himself in search of Horcruxes, instead of staying with his pregnant wife. Lupin had been worried about his child facing the humiliation of a werewolf father, of being half werewolf himself. Harry had aggravated him to the point of making Lupin leave the house in a rage. These painful and somewhat guilt-ridden thoughts had then subsided into the memory of an excited and disheveled Lupin arriving unannounced at Bill and Fleur's house, proclaiming birth of his son. He'd asked Harry to become godfather, and Harry had accepted without hesitation. And then, Harry had remembered the night of Voldemort's defeat – the very night Lupin and Tonks had died, along with forty-eight other people – among them, Fred Weasley. Using the second Hallow, Harry had brought back the souls of his mother, his father, Sirius, and Lupin. Harry had apologized to Lupin for his having to die because of him – Lupin had said his death was not in vain: his son could now grow up in a safe and peaceful place.

As Harry had looked into Ted's intense and watering eyes, he told the boy that his questions – his last questions – would be answered the following morning. Ted had accepted his godfather's response, not daring to speak too much for fear of his voice cracking and betraying himself to his feelings.

Now, as Harry's final words echoed through the halls of his thoughts, Ted stopped abruptly. Since the start of his journey into the graveyard, Teddy realized that he had been making his way to the gnarled old tree by atop of the small hill he'd seen at the gates. As his eyes feel from the twisted tree to the ground below it, Teddy felt something tighten in his stomach. There, at the base of the tree, he could see through the thinning fog a large tombstone.

A cold sweat broke out over his forehead, and Teddy began to breathe hard. The tomb was calling to him, beckoning him forward. Anticipation flooded him, making his hands shake, and his heart beat rapidly. Could this be…?

Ted broke into a run, whizzing past at least a dozen graves; he was certain they were not be the ones he yearned to visit. With the help of his long legs and large strides, he reached the grassy slope in seconds, and began his accent. His legs, weak with anticipation, betrayed him halfway up the mound, and Teddy slid on the wet grass. He managed to stop himself from sliding down, and picked himself back up. He ran to the top of the slope with a burst of energy that he had never known before, stopping only once he was close to the tomb.

Ted was out of breath, not from the run, but from the eagerness growing in the pit of his stomach, and the million thoughts running through his head. His hands were shaking harder now at his sides, and his head was spinning from too many feelings. Carefully, as if he were disturbing a carefully balanced ecosystem, Ted approached the headstone. It was twice the size of a normal tombstone, flat, and made of white marble. It was wet from the early morning mist, and Ted was forced to get a hold of himself before coming any closer.

When he finally did step forward, Ted saw, in neat, emerald letters the message the tomb bore:

Remus J. Lupin Nymphadora Lupin

Died making the world a safer place for their son

A shotgun of feelings erupted inside Ted, and he fell to his knees heavily. The wet grass soaked through his jeans, but Ted could not have been more uninterested. He didn't dare take his eyes off of the tomb for fear that it might disappear from his sight. His body began to shake, but not from the cold of the graveyard.

"Died making the world a safer place for their son'," he whispered. "Died…making the world safer…for their son." As Ted stared on, the tomb began to blur before him. He lowered his head as a great sigh escaped him, gripping at the grass beneath him as if for support. Droplets fell on the back of his hands. Tears.

Ted couldn't stop them. In eleven years, he never remembered crying this hard over anything, ever. But he didn't care, there was no one to watch him here; Teddy made no attempt to stop the violent surge of tears. He let them run free, falling to the grass, and staining the sleeves of his sweater. It was then that Teddy realized that he was crying directly above their tombs – their bodies mere feet away from him, cold and lifeless, unreachable. The realization made a great sob rip through him, and his tears became those of bitterness. He suddenly longed for a parental embrace, a loving word from his mother, a life lesson from his father – anything to comfort him, to draw him back from this dark despair that had washed over him.

"Mum, Dad," he sobbed. The words felt hollow on his lips; the feeling only made Ted feel lonelier, more empty inside. He was crying hard, now, harder than he had meant to, if at all. The night before, he had prepared a few words in his head for this moment, but now, as his feelings gripped him, the practiced speech dissolved into nothing.

"I – I'm sorry! I'm sorry you had to die! I'm sorry you never got to know me, and that I never got to know you. I'm sorry we never lived together as a family. I'm sorry, so sorry." He chocked back a sob, and faced the marble tomb, "And I'm sorry I was angry at you. I was angry, terribly angry at you because I thought, I felt, that you had abandoned me for your own, selfish reasons. I thought you preferred death over an unwanted child." He stopped, his tears falling silently down his cheeks and he bowed his head low. "I'm sorry, please…please forgive me."

Ted breathed out heavily, and then raised his head once more. Despite his apology, a bit of annoyance rose in his chest. "But, was it worth it?" He yelled out. "Where your deaths really needed to ensure the safe future of this world? Where they? Or did you die needlessly? The world could have been a peaceful place…even if you hadn't died."

He burst into tears again, this time, they were bitter, angry tears. Ted felt a sudden annoyance, jealously, and hatred even, for anyone that had spent time with his parents; toward Harry and his wife, their friends Ron and Hermione, even his grandmother – anyone who had known his parents longer than he. Why had _they _been so lucky, anyway? _He _was their son. Why hadn't he known them longer? Who else was more entitled to meet and live with his parents than he? It was unfair, so unfair. He slammed a closed fist into the grass, cursing. "Damn it, damn it…damn it all!"

He felt another twinge of anger, "You're my parents! You were supposed to be there for me! To help me, to give me advice…you were…supposed to be there." The rage died as soon as it had come, leaving Ted exhausted, cold, and alone. He pulled himself together and stood up on shaking legs. Ted stared into the emerald lettering. "Just tell me…why?"

A sudden gust of wind picked up around the boy, and the unbearable cold he had been feeling all morning lifted. It was replaced by a sudden, warm and comfortable feeling. His limbs no longer ached, his head was not pounding from the onset of tears – Teddy felt oddly at peace, light, and comfortable. His strength, drained away by his cacophony of emotions, returned to him like water into a sponge. The breeze wrapped around him, as if in a warm embrace, drying his tears as it ran across his face.

Ted felt as if he had been given the best hug of his life, he closed his eyes for a moment, letting the small breeze turn him in some direction. It ran through his hair, feeling almost as if someone had ruffled it with tenderness, and then gave him a pat on the back.

Ted opened his eyes and started out at the sight on the other side of the hill, opposite the cemetery. The fog was gone, completely lifted, and the sun shone brightly over the horizon of houses. Its warm rays reached Ted's face, and he realized now, what his parents had done.

It had been for him. They had risked their lived to make sure he would grow up in an environment devoid of the blood-chilling fear instilled by evil itself in the shape of Voldemort. He surveyed the scene of houses spreading out before him, radiating peace and security. This peace, this feeling of warmth and security, had been his parent's final parting gift to him. Ted understood now: his parents had fought and died so that he could grow and live.

Ted turned, wiping the remnants of tears from his face with the back of his hand. He faced the marble tomb once more and smiled whole-heartedly. The breeze surrounded him once more and settled back in wherever it had come from.

"Thank you, Mum and Dad. Thank you."


End file.
